The U.S. Pharmacopeia Drug Quality & Information Program (USPDQI) and the Drug Information Association (DIA) are co-sponsoring an International Conference on Pharmaceutical Affairs, to be held October 2-5, 2001, at Hotel De L'Annapurma in Kathmandu, Nepal. USPDQI is a cooperative program with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of Population, Health and Nutrition.

The conference is designed to give attendees an understanding of the global regulatory environment and its impact on developing countries, and to improve regional efforts in drug quality assurance. It seeks to facilitate regional cooperation in pharmaceutical registration, production, and use among the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries (SAARC). SAARC member countries include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The conference is jointly organized by the Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health Nepal, Drug Information Association (DIA), USPDQI, and the Graduate Pharmacists Association of Nepal (GPAN). It will be co-chaired by Keith Johnson, deputy director at Management Sciences for Health, and Sultan Ghani, manager, Division of Pharmaceutical Quality at Health Canada. Representatives of various national regulatory agencies, industry, and academia as well as Roger Williams, M.D., USP executive vice president and chief executive officer, and Lembit Rago from the World Health Organization, will speak at the conference.

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to attend sessions focusing on the following topics:
-- Harmonization of Pharmaceutical Regulation and Compliance Issues
-- Regional Cooperation and Harmonization
-- Quality Control, Quality Assurance, GMPs and cGMPs
-- Counterfeiting
-- Information Access and Use

The three-day conference is designed for individuals working for drug and pharmaceutical excipient manufacturers; quality assurance/quality control, procurement, and pharmaceutical research and development personnel; consumer health advocates, and government regulators. For further information about the conference, visit the USP website or DIA's website. Or to register, call conference organizers in Nepal at 977-1-228244 or by e-mail at gpan@mail.com.np.

In addition, exhibit space is available at the conference venue. To request information and/or to reserve a booth, check the box on the registration form or send an e-mail to: gpan@mail.com.np.

U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), a non-government organization, establishes standards to ensure the quality of medicines and other health care technologies. These standards are developed by a process of public involvement and are accepted worldwide. USP also helps to monitor quality and prevent errors in human and veterinary medicine through national reporting programs. USP is a not-for-profit organization that achieves its goals through the contributions of volunteers representing pharmacy, medicine, and other health care professions, as well as science, academia, the U.S. government, the pharmaceutical industry, and consumer organizations. For more information, visit www.usp.org.

Drug Information Association (DIA) is an independent non-profit international association of professionals involved in all areas of health care. DIA provides a worldwide forum for exchange and dissemination of information that is intended to advance the discover, development and utilization of medicines and related health care technologies.

Graduate Pharmacists' Association, Nepal (GPAN) is a non-governmental non-profit professional organization of Nepalese pharmacists.